As painful as it can be to admit, the one-mile dirt tracks in Springfield and Du Quoin, Ill., might be candidates for a racing version of the endangered species list.
Mile tracks were once an essential element of the national championship schedule and one by one most faded into oblivion. For traditionalists, the loss of the Indiana State Fairgrounds was the cruelest cut of all. It makes these Illinois ovals sacred turf, particularly for those who love the sound of a big USAC Silver Crown car reverberating off the roof of the old, covered grandstands.
Today’s Silver Crown cars are a bit different than those beasts that roamed the miles decades ago. Yet, the fact that there are more similarities than differences keep the thin thread between the past and present intact. Even various track records continue to stand the test of time.
Consider this: Jack Hewitt established the 100-mile record at Springfield in 1987, while Johnny Parsons set the bar at Du Quoin in 1992. These are among the most durable marks in USAC history.
We live in a different time. Once it was exceedingly difficult to get a chance to compete on this circuit. It was a painstaking process that required an education in the school of hard knocks, and an unspoken agreement among owners, drivers and officials that one was equal to the task.
Chuck Gurney knew this instinctively. He grew up in the sport. He watched, listened and learned. Then, as a young man, he took a leap of faith and traveled east. After he gained a foothold in Indianapolis, he almost needed someone to pinch him. He gazed at faces he recognized from the trade papers or from their trips to the West Coast. Now, he was among them and considered a peer.
It all began with his father, Gene Gurney. After launching his career in track roadsters in northern California, Gene Gurney competed with the Bay Cities Racing Ass’n midget and hard-top divisions.
Chuck Gurney was born on April 20, 1949, and it wasn’t long before the youngster was behind the wheel. His dad abetted the process by building a quarter-midget track in Hayward, Calif.
“It was down by the little airport,” Gurney said. “There was just one building there. My dad had the equipment from the company he worked for, and I think I got started in 1956 or 1957.”
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